Contents

Synopsis

On their way to Pacifidlog Town, the boat Ash and his friends are riding breaks down, forcing them to make a pit stop on Donto Island. It is currently the Donphan mating season, which they end up being separated from each other. May now has to make the ultimate decision: stay to find Max and miss the final contest before the Grand Festival, or leave alone for Pacifidlog Island trusting that Ash will find Max and come to the Contest for the next morning.

Episode Plot

The heroes are on a ship sailing to Pacifidlog Town. May already plans to get there and earn her final ribbon, since they will arrive to the town today. May thinks of training there, while Ash reminds her she will also have time to go to the Grand Festival. They can see Pacifidlog Island, but a mistake on the engine causes the ship to stop. May asks Carlos, the man who navigated the ship, if they'll get to the island soon enough. Carlos tells them that he'll ship onto Donto Island. After stopping on the island, he sees it will take some hours before he can get the ship running again. May is disappointed, though Carlos exclaims the only way to get to Pacifidlog Island soon is to get the ferry on the other side of Donto Island before the night. May has little choice but to get there, while Carlos apologizes for the trouble. The heroes know it isn't Carlos' fault the engine broke itself, though Carlos wishes May luck in the Contest.

As they are here, Ash encourages to check the surrounding area for Pokémon. A Donphan rolls to them and Ash remembers Phanpy evolves into Donphan. This makes Ash remembers his own Phanpy and hopes it is doing fine. Donphan charges and the heroes move aside before getting hit. They spot more and Brock believes they are performing their love dance, a sign of affection from a male to impress female Donphan. As May sees it is the breeding season, an another Donphan rolls and comes back, so Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to protect May. Since it is a Ground-type, it has no effect, so Ash pushes May aside to protect her. Thus, the heroes go away from the Donphan group to be safe, even if May exclaims that is not the way to the port. They spot another, much friendlier Donphan, but they run away as more Donphan come rolling to them. While resting a while, heroes see this is why nobody visits the island, while May panics about her Contest. Ash sends Corphish, to use a Water attack to protect them. Brock sends Mudkip to assist as well.

From a hill, Team Rocket looks at the Donphan. Meowth thinks that their boss would use them for bowling, though they would smash the building. He thinks he would use it as massage or transportation, but James is skeptical about that, either. Jessie yells at them they need to capture them, in either case. They spot a Donphan running away and soon are flattened by a group of Donphan. To heal them, James sends Chimecho. The latter uses Astonish to scare Meowth and Jessie, so they begin to fight with James for "not training it well". The heroes spot some Donphan, which are in love, though this makes Brock sad he doesn't have anyone. Suddenly, they spot another one rolling to them, so Mudkip uses Water Gun and Corphish with Bubble Beam on it. However, it gets bashed on a rock, so the heroes run to tend to it.

Brock gets the first aid kit and heals Donphan. The heroes apologize for the rudeness and see a shiny, brown Donphan. The male Donphan is in love and rolls to impress her, so the heroes wish him luck. Team Rocket orders their Pokémon to stop Donphan so they may capture them. They spot some rolling, so Wobbuffet comes to use Counter, but is blasted off and the Donphan roll over Team Rocket. Jessie asks Chimecho to use Heal Bell, but they get hit by Astonish instead. Jessie is angry, since James is pranking them through Chimecho. May makes another "expedition", stating they are on a detour and landed on an island filled with Donphan at the time of the breeding season. Max is surprised May is not freaking out, but she replies that's why she is doing this "expedition". Ash spots the Donphan Brock healed with a bandage, who rolls to the shiny one. However, more Donphan roll to impress the shiny one. The bandaged Donphan gets attacked and loses, so the heroes encourage him not to give up. Max states he cannot give up just like May doesn't, which embarrasses her. The bandaged Donphan bashes some Donphan away and starts rolling to impress the shiny Donphan.

Suddenly, Snorunt comes out and freezes the ground with Ice Beam. Ash wants to see Snorunt attack with Ice Beam more, but seems to fail, so Ash sees he will have to work on the attack. Snorunt tries to improve itself and freezes the ground more; the Donphan trip over due to slippery ground. The shiny Donphan goes away, seeing the Donphan have failed. Ash tries to get Snorunt back, but it goes away. May is even more frustrated, seeing she will never reach the port. Team Rocket has dug a hole to capture Donphan. They spot the Snorunt, who freezes them with Ice Beam. The heroes are surprised and move away, as the Donphan roll away and blast Team Rocket off. The heroes runs away as more Donphan roll to them. However, Ash and May see they split themselves from Max and Brock.

Both groups begin to search for the others. May makes an "expedition", noting they got separated and panics at the thought they could be lost forever. Later on, Ash and May see the last boat to Pacifidlog Island. Ash advises May should go alone, as he will find Brock and Max and reminds her there won't be another chance for May to get the last ribbon for Grand Festival. May tells him she'd love to, but cannot, since there are more important things she needs to fulfill first. She remembers when she was packing things for her journey, her mother, Caroline, came to inform her Max would be going as well. Her mother asked her to be with Max and protect him, so May swore that oath. May also reminded her Ash would be there as well and was told to have fun on the journey. May states she has to honor that oath, and knows it would be tough to start over for the next year's Grand Festival, she would be still up for that challenge. Ash and May spot the last boat going, so May begins to cry, but thanks Ash and Pikachu for supporting her and decides to find Max and Brock.

Max and Brock search for Ash and May and see the bandaged Donphan. The Donphan shakes its head when Brock asked if he found his love. Ash and May also search and find the shiny Donphan and give her some food. They also tell her that they met another Donphan who loves her. The bandaged Donphan comes to the shiny one, while Ash and May reunite with Brock and Max. May hugs Max, being afraid what might've happened to him, while Ash advises Max to stay closer to his sister. The bandaged Donphan performs its love dance. He crashes a tree, but continues performing, but is tackled by another Donphan. However, Donphan tackles every other male Donphan around. The shiny Donphan is amazed and rolls out with the bandaged one as well. However, both are captured by Team Rocket.

May is quite furious, as she blames her enemies for stalling her, for she is could already be in Pacifidlog Town to get ready for her contest. May sends all her Pokémon; Beautifly uses String Shot, pulling the Donphan to it. Bulbasaur uses Razor Leaf, setting the Donphan free. Skitty uses Double Slap, hitting Team Rocket while Combusken's Fire Spin burns them. To blast them off, Donphan uses Rollout on Team Rocket. The heroes thank the Donphan and May wishes them both to be happy. At the port, the heroes see there is no other boat left. Ash tells Max and Brock she wouldn't leave without Max, as her promise bound her. Max is saddened, but May reminds him she got to see how the Donphan fell in love with each other. Suddenly, they do spot Carlos, who takes them to Pacifidlog Island and promises to even pay for the dinner. During their ride, May promises to herself to get win her fifth ribbon.

Trivia

The episode name is a pun on "Great Expectations", a novel written by Charles Dickens.

Mime Jr., Weavile and Lucario have been inserted back into the intro, even though they are Generation IV Pokémon.